


His Father

by koalathebear



Category: Homeland
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-26
Updated: 2015-01-26
Packaged: 2018-03-09 02:34:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3233039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koalathebear/pseuds/koalathebear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This popped into my head this morning and wouldn't go away.  It's set way, way into the future - Carrie and Quinn have had a long and happy life together and on the day of Quinn's funeral, John Jr. shows up ... I wondered what a conversation between Franny and John would look like.</p>
            </blockquote>





	His Father

Franny stood at the edge of the group, her eyes were dry but they were stinging badly. Her mother was not coping well and was being held up by Aunt Maggie off to the side, her muffled sobs filling the air. It had been left to Maggie and Franny to arrange things. 

That had been fine with Franny – it had given her something to _do_ …At first Matt had told her to take it easy, slow down and let herself grieve but then he'd realised that it was her coping mechanism and he'd let her do what she needed to do and just made sure he was there to hold her close when the grief hit her again and she needed to bury her face in his chest, her tears soaking his shirt-front.

So she helped to organise the funeral, all of the administrative arrangements, the wake – she had baked up a storm in preparation for the wake. The last few days she had barely left the kitchen as she baked various types of cookies, slides, sheet cakes, pastries and finger food. Matt had kept the kids entertained, allowing them in to lick the beaters or the bowl or to give mommy a therapeutic hug. Matt missed him, too. The two men had been close. When she'd originally introduced them, she had wondered how it would be - no one would ever be good enough for Franny in Quinn's eyes. He had surprised her and trusted her judgment - although she had no doubt he'd run a full background check on Matt surreptitiously.

Staring at the crowd, she felt vindicated. She'd got the numbers right… there were so many people here. She glanced over at her mother who was listening intently to the stories told by one of their many family friends – funny stories, happy stories, sad stories … All different sides of a man she'd never know completely but she would always love.

They had talked about it at length. "I can't do it, Franny," Carrie had told her. "I don't think I can do it …" So Franny had agreed to say a few words about Quinn on behalf of both Carrie and herself. So it was Franny Quinn, her dark red hair in a loose braid, gleaming richly in the sunlight that stood in front of the group, her smile tight and her blue eyes whimsical and sad.

She smiled and she cried as she recounted tales of the father who had watched over her first steps with her, who had run behind her as she had learned how to ride a bicycle, had helped patch up her scraped elbows and knees … had pretended to be Santa, had chased away the nightmares and helped her with her homework. It had been Peter Quinn who had taught her how to throw a punch, take a punch and also run for the hills if the fight got too hard. She was close to her mother, but Quinn had been as much as a friend as he had been a father to her.

"It can't have been easy living with two, pig-headed, determined women – but he seemed to enjoy it," Franny told the group, who smiled in response. "It sounds sentimental but mom always said that he was the love of her life – that they had saved one another. I know we live in a cynical age and that true love seems like something we only see in the movies – but I grew up in a home where I witnessed the truth of true love – of soul mates and kindred spirits." Franny's voice broke and she glanced over to where Matt stood with their daughter and son. 

Her husband gave her a nod of encouragement. She looked at their faces of her children who were crying for the loss of their beloved grandfather. "I'll miss him forever," Franny told the group," But I'll always love him and I know he'll always be here for me … for everyone who loved him." She didn't tell them of the hole in her life. Of the fact that she'd left his details in her contact list in email and on her cell phone, that she found it almost impossible to resist the urge to pick up the phone and call him - to tell him about the day had gone. 

She walked through the crowd, giving way for the next speaker and went straight into Matt's arms. "You did good, Franny," he whispered against her hair as she bit back a sob. She had to hold it together, she did not want to dissolve into tears in front of all of these people. She pulled away, blinking back the tears and then frowned slightly as she saw a man standing further back from the group.

Tall, dark-haired and several years older than she was, it almost seemed as though the ghost of her father was standing beneath the tree. "I'll be back," she told Matt who nodded, glancing over at the man quizzically.

Walking up to the stranger, she tilted her head. "I guess you're Johnny," she said boldly and he looked shocked.

"John," he corrected her, his dark eyes searching her face narrowly, missing nothing. He must have inherited his eyes from his mother, Franny found herself thinking absently. John's eyes flickered from her face to where Matt was standing, over to where Carrie and Maggie were standing. "How did you know who I was?" he asked her curiously.

Franny's smiled was crooked. "You look just like he used to … in the photos and from when I was a kid … my mom will probably have a heart-attack when she sees you."

Franny stared at her … adopted brother? She wasn't quite sure what the correct term was. "How did you know about the funeral?"

"My mom saw the death notice ... I found her crying about it and she told me," he told her evenly. He gave a forced smile. "I know it's a bit strange for me to be here …"

Franny shook her head. "Not at all. He thought of you all the time … he did wish he could have been there for you."

John nodded. "I know. Mom told me she was the one who asked him not to come by … disrupt our lives – that he tried, but then he backed off because she said it was the best thing to do."

"He didn't think it was fair to you," Franny told him earnestly.

"I know … I don’t blame him at all. I just feel … regret …" He struggled a little with the words and Franny smiled and looped her arm through his.

"Come on – I'll introduce you to the rest of the family. We've so much to tell you about our dad … "

John hesitated a moment and then fell into step beside her. Carrie looked up when Quinn's son approached, her eyes widening in shock.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, ma'am," he told her quietly, politely.

Carrie's eyes filled with tears and she shook her head smilingly. "I'm so sorry for yours, Johnny," she whispered and Quinn's son flinched.

"No," Franny's voice interrupted sharply. "We've got so many stories … so many memories – we can tell you all about dad," Franny told him fiercely. 

John smiled despite himself at the determination in Franny Quinn's voice and he found himself believing that it wasn't too late for him to learn about the man who had been his father.


End file.
